1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to object tracking and classification, and more particularly, to tracking and classification of emergency/law enforcement vehicles which is defined for the purposes of this disclosure to be any type of vehicle (road, rail, air, water, etc.) for which other vehicles must or should yield the right of way or take other appropriate action).
2. Prior Art
It is imperative that emergency/law enforcement vehicles be given a clear right of way on the roadways so that they are not delayed in providing emergency care or service to the public. It is mandatory for vehicles in the right of way of emergency/law enforcement vehicles to yield to such vehicles, generally by pulling over to the side of the road until such vehicles pass.
Therefore, driver awareness is very important so that a driver can yield the right of way to an approaching emergency/law enforcement vehicle. However, there are situations where driver awareness is compromised by conditions caused by the driver or those conditions not under the control of the driver. For instance, a driver could be listening to loud music or talking on a cellular telephone and not able to hear the sirens of an approaching emergency/law enforcement vehicle. Similarly, in a noisy environment, a driver may not be able to hear the sirens of an approaching emergency/law enforcement vehicle. Furthermore, a driver may also not see an approaching emergency/law enforcement vehicle because of an obstruction in the road, such a sharp bend, or the emergency/law enforcement vehicle may be in a “blindspot” in the driver's rear mirrors.
For these reasons there is a need in the art for an apparatus for detecting an approaching emergency/law enforcement vehicle from a secondary vehicle (e.g., a passenger or commercial vehicle sharing the road with the emergency/law enforcement vehicle).